Alabama

Crime concerns Fairfield neighbors

Vincent Smith believes God called him to live in Fairfield. But it's been tough lately to maintain his commitment.

Smith represents City Council District 2, where crime is on the upswing and some residents say they are fearful of being outside.

"The calling has not changed, but I constantly evaluate the calling," said Smith, who brought a dozen or so District 2 residents, all crime victims, to a recent council meeting to dramatize the crime problem.

One of the residents, John Davis, read a litany of crime numbers for the current year.

"District 2 is in a crisis situation," Davis said.

He offered the following comparison, based on information from the Fairfield Police Department for the city and District 2:

Homicides - two in the city, including one in District 2.

Robberies - 50 and 14.

Burglaries - 60 and 21.

Car thefts - 35 and 25.

Car burglaries - 265 and 21.

"Those numbers are very personal to me," he said. "On Oct. 10 my garage was burglarized. District 2 needs much more police protection than any other section of the city."

Police see problems:

Police Chief Pat Mardis agrees that District 2, which encompasses parts of downtown, Lloyd Noland Parkway and the high school, has problems.

"The main problem down there is a high concentration of population and a high concentration of juvenile citizens. They are the ones mostly doing the crime - the criminal mischief and the car burglaries," he said.

"We also have one family of criminals down there," he continued. "We've put them in jail time and time again. The majority of them are juveniles. We slap them in and they are right back out again."

District 2 is the most diverse community in the city, according to Smith. There are senior citizens, middle-class families and a fairly substantial white population in the area.

"There is also an increased amount of vacant properties that are beginning to be purchased by absentee landlords. We're having an increased amount of single-family homes being converted to rental property. With rental property comes a transient community. There is an increased amount of young men without jobs, roaming the streets," he said.

District 2 is not a prosperous area but more than a third of the city's burglaries this year have been within its boundaries.

"It's stealing from the poor," said Mardis.

Even in poor neighborhoods, most homes today have a such small appliances as a television, DVD players, boom box or even a digital camera, he said.

"That's stuff that is easy to move at the drug houses," Mardis said.

Frightening story:

DeWayne Coker, teacher and football coach at Restoration Academy, had a crime experience a lot scarier than a burglary.

"In August my wife and I were speaking on our porch with people we bought the house from. Three men stepped up on the porch with pistols," he said. One of the men put a gun to the head of the elderly woman from whom the Cokers were purchasing the home and said. "`Give me your money or I'll blow your ... brains out.' I grabbed my wife and pulled her inside and locked the door and called 911," Coker said.

While waiting for the police, the Cokers realized their 11-year-old son was still on the porch.

"I opened the door and pulled him inside. The police arrived moments later, but the robbers were gone. My son witnessed and heard the entire thing. My wife still has nightmares about it. She will not go outside the house in the daytime by herself," said Coker.

Smith is Coker's next-door neighbor.

"DeWayne and I have been friends for 10 or 15 years. I wanted him to have that house. It was their first night in the house. They were moving stuff in and the other folks who had lived there 60-plus years were moving stuff out. That's the memory both families will always have of their first and last nights there," he said.

So, why do they stay in such a neighborhood?

Smith and his family moved to Fairfield from Hoover. They have lived on Lloyd Noland Parkway for 23 years in three different houses on that same block, he said. "I felt that God was calling us to incarnate Christ in that community," Smith said. "I have a sense of purpose there."

For Coker, there is a similar calling. He is among a number of faculty members at Restoration Academy who live in the downtown area by choice.

"I love this city and I have an interest in the youth of the city," said Coker. "The folks we bought the house from said: `You are out of your mind to want to live here.' The former homeowner told him the same thing again after the robbery.

Can be solved:

Everyone agrees the crime problem can be solved, but views on how to solve it and on what timetable vary widely.

"I think police have to take a more assertive approach in confronting the gang activity in the community," said Smith. "Two cars right across the street were broken into this morning." He wants the police to be more proactive by checking identification and driver licenses.

Video cameras and neighborhood patrols are other possibilities, Smith said.

Davis also has ideas for solving the crime problems in District 2 including, enforcing the curfew for teens, tearing down dilapidated houses, increasing church involvement, organizing more youth sports programs and helping the unemployed find jobs.

"We cannot live down, rise above or overcome anything unless we work together," said Davis. "We all have two hands, one to help ourselves and one to help others."

Mayor Michael Johnson said police did blitz the neighborhood a few months back, making a number of arrests.

"We put plainclothes people out there. We put unmarked cars out there and caught some. Obviously that is not a permanent solution, and we cannot do it alone. Residents need to be committed," Johnson said. " Don't go inside and close your blinds. Make those phone calls to the police."